With the fairly strong southerly winds during the last couple days my plan for
today was to go searching for post breeding dispersal of some more
southerly birds such as various waders (egrets, herons, ibis, etc) and/or marsh
birds. My plan was to start over at Arcadia and work my way back east. When I
got up I saw a post from Dave M. from yesterday evening about a juvenile Glossy
Ibis at Arcadia so I headed over there right away to try to catch up with it. I
arrived to find no evidence of the bird in the marsh but did have a few Killdeer
and Spotted Sandpipers around as well as a few Great Blue Herons. With the
water levels low and the vegetation quite thick I hoped the bird was still
present but just hidden from view. I tried multiple vantage points but still
came up empty. I then decided I would check some other nearby areas such as the
Oxbow and Ned's Ditch for the bird but just before I left the ibis flew in from
somewhere upriver and then settled in among the vegetation. I moved around to
get a better view of the bird by moving up the river trail and almost
immediately ran into a family of Raccoons who scattered from the trail. After
getting a quick look at the Raccoons I managed to get the ibis in the scope and
got some photos and video. The Glossy Ibis became species #209 for the county
this year.
Link to video: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/27349376603/in/dateposted-public/

Pied billed Grebe, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, June 28, 2016

Pied billed Grebe, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, June 28, 2016

After Arcadia I stopped over to Lower Mill Pond in
Easthampton looking for more egrets and herons and found three Great Blue Herons
and a Green Heron (no sign of the Great Egret I had there several days ago). I
tried a few different viewpoints and as I was scanning I came across a Pied billed
Grebe...very unusual here in late June! Given the date the potential is there
for it to be trying to breed here but I didn't see any evidence of breeding.
It seems like a poor location to try to breed but you never know...worth keeping
an eye out in the area. I also checked Nashawanuck Pond but it was very quiet.
I then headed back across the river and checked the Honey Pot and along the
river in Hadley. The only real highlight for these stops were at least four
Vesper Sparrows at the Honey Pot.

No unusual herons at Lake
Wallace but all the Great Blue Heron nests have young in them with at least one
juvenile bird out of the nest already. Loads of both adult and young geese,
ducks and mergansers around too. The last stop of the morning found the
continued Lesser Scaup at Winsor Dam. Overall a nice morning despite the
overcast and misty conditions with several noteworthy sightings.

I headed out a bit after dawn over to Lake Wallace and had a great bird not long
after I arrived when a Red Crossbill (or maybe several) flew by calling heading
west to east....species #208 for the county this year. I immediately recognized the kip, kip, kip call and tried to get
some audio so I could send it off to Matt Young at Cornell to find out the specific type Red Crossbill I had. Unfortunately I think the bird(s) were too far away by the time I
started recording but I sent along the clip anyway to see if Matt can somehow
tease out the crossbills from all the background noise. I will update if I get
any info back on the crossbills. It appears there may be a bit of an invasion of Red Crossbills into New York and mid New England starting to occur...hopefully there will be more to come. Lots of other good stuff at Lake Wallace
including many young ducks and mergansers, at least 17 Great Blue Herons
(lots of young birds in nests), a Virginia Rail and a family of Red tailed Hawks
plus a half dozen Common Ravens flying past. Video of the Great Blue Herons being fed can be found below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/27328554724/in/dateposted-public/https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/27328692184/in/dateposted-public/
UPDATE on crossbills: I got an e-mail back from Matt saying the bird(s) were either Type 1 or Type 2 Red Crossbills but the recording was not good enough to figure out which one of the two. I have had both of these types in the area before in previous years.

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 27, 2016

Chimney Swift, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 27, 2016

Chimney Swift, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 27, 2016

Chimney Swifts, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 27, 2016

Raccoon, Quabbin Park, MA, June 27, 2016

I then decided to head to
Quabbin Park in the hopes of catching up with more crossbills in areas I have
had them there in the past (no luck with them despite much effort). Before
hitting the park itself I stopped at Winsor Dam where I rediscovered the male
Lesser Scaup back again after a nearly two week absence. I had last seen the
bird at the dam on June 14 but it had not been present during several visits
over the last several days. I figured it had moved on or been eaten but neither
outcome seems to be the case. If will be interesting to see how long it
stays...it is pushing toward two months now. The Chimney Swifts at the admin
building have grown in number to a dozen and put on quite a show as they flew
around catching insects and occasionally dropping into he chimney. My trip to a
few spots within the park didn't turn up anything unexpected. I also ran across
a Raccoon that looked really ratty and seemed a bit unsteady....perhaps a rabid
individual or sick with some other disease.

Yesterday I
made the trip up to Prescott Peninsula to complete another series of field
surveys and had a banner day of birding. I was also on the lookout for other
unusual species up that way that I have seen in the past there including Red
Crossbill, Evening Grosbeak and Cerulean Warbler (missed on all three of those
once again). Highlights included a couple of vocal Barred Owls at one of my
stops, at least seven Ruffed Grouse (a single adult plus another adult with young), a flyby Common Raven, Species of warblers and a couple of House Finches
(quite unusual on the peninsula). Ended the morning with a total of 68 species
of birds. Notable among the mammals I saw was a Black Bear that was walking
through the woods. Full list from the morning attached below:http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S30400605

American Crows, home, Belchertown, MA, June 25, 2016

American Crows, home, Belchertown, MA, June 25, 2016

Another species showed up at the water feature on the 25th...American Crows...lots of photos of them as they checked out the water and moved some stones around.

On Thursday morning after work I checked a few locations on my way home with the highlight being a Great Egret in Easthampton at Lower Mill Pond, a fairly unusual species in June here. Arcadia and the vulture roost was fairly quiet. I also got a call on my way home that the Griffiths had the bander from the neighborhood nestwatch program in their yard. I stopped by briefly and got to see a few birds get banded. Speaking of banded birds I had a Gray Catbird that was banded last year in June show itself again. I saw the individual in early to mid May but then it disappeared until it resurfaced today.

Black Vultures, Hadley, MA, June 22, 2016

Black Vultures, Hadley, MA, June 22, 2016

Stopped by the vulture roost Wednesday morning and in among the Turkey Vultures were two Black Vultures in the same spot I Had them yesterday.

A very wet Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

I headed up to Prescott Peninsula yesterday morning to conduct another series of field surveys and spent a few hours there exploring. Nothing too unusual or unexpected but some decent numbers and variety around with lots of breeding evidence.

Today I stayed around the local area checking Winsor Dam (no sign of the scaup), Lake Wallace, Covey WMA and along Jabish Canal. I was mainly looking for marsh birds but only managed to find a single Virginia Rail. The Great Blue Herons at Lake Wallace seem to be having some nesting success with three of the four nests having some young birds in them and the fourth one with an adult sitting on the nest. The most noteworthy bird of the morning was a calling Northern Bobwhite (#207) at Covey WMA.

Gray Catbirds in nest, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 21, 2016

Gray Catbirds in nest, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 21, 2016

The Gray Catbirds look almost big enough to take off from the nest at home and I assume they will be gone from the nest soon. The Tree Swallows fledged a few days ago and the House Wrens should also being leaving the nest box within the next couple days.